AN: Here's chapter two! I do not own Alice in Wonderland, no matter how much I wish that I do. I had to replace this chapter when I noticed some major typos.

Chapter 2- Arguments and Looking Glasses

"Alice, I cannot believe that you would do such a thing!"

The girl flinched at the harsh tone her father was using, but held his gaze.

"You may have ruined our plans completely, do you realize that?" he continued, his eyes hard.

It had been two hours since George had left, furious with her, and threatening to call off the engagement. Honestly, Alice thought, he is so immature... we aren't even engaged! Or... if we are, I wasn't told about it. That wasn't a very pleasing prospect, but she knew that it was possible all the same. Her parents had a nasty habit of never telling her anything, whether or not it was really for her own good. Sometimes Alice wondered if they even ever thought of anyone but themselves and their plans.

"Are you sorry for what you did, young lady?" Leonore, her mother, asked sternly.

The older woman seemed to be on the verge of tears, although her daughter had no idea why she was so upset. So Alice had made one rich boy angry, what was the problem? It wasn't even as though there ever could have been love between the two. In fact, Alice highly doubted that there could ever really be anything between the two at all, from what she had seen. She had absolutely no regrets.

"No I'm not," Alice retorted. "I honestly do not care that he may not want to marry me, for I certainly do not want to marry him!"

She emphasized the words 'do not', but her parents didn't seem to notice. They continued to glare at their youngest daughter, using the same looks they had given her when she was young and had disobeyed them. Did they still think of her as a child that they could control? She was seventeen for goodness sakes!

Leonore took a deep breath. "Alice, what has gotten into you? You have never acted this way before."

Leonore had bright blue eyes just like her daughter, but her long hair was brown. She wore it tied back in a sort of elegant bun on the top of her head. She wore a modest dress, although her clothing spoke of wealth. Right now her blue eyes were blazing with anger, which made her daughter very uncomfortable.

"Your mother is right, Alice. You need to stop behaving like such a child, and grow up," Richard Lidell told her.

Alice's eyes returned to her father. His blond hair was long, and usually pinned back against the nape of his neck. He had dark blue eyes, and a wide mouth. His hair now sported a few streaks of gray, and his eyes and mouth had lines around them. He had once been a very handsome man, and she supposed, if she were not his daughter, she would consider him handsome still.

"I'm not acting like a child!" Alice protested, though she knew it would be futile. "Have either of you even considered my feelings about this? Have you?"

Her parents exchanged looks, which was enough of an answer for Alice. She knew that they weren't thinking of her in this. They only wanted to try and make their family more important, more prestigious, by marrying their daughter off to one of the richest families. Alice looked down at the marbled floor as tears welled in her eyes. This wasn't fair... why did she have to have parents that didn't care about her?

"Alice," her mother took a step toward her. "Of course we have considered your feelings. Everything we do we do for you."

Richard nodded. "Your mother is right Alice. We care about you most of all."

Alice's head shot up. For her? They thought they were doing this for her? They thought that she wanted this? They were both madder than the Mad Hatter! And from what she remembered of him, that was certainly saying something. She laughed mirthlessly.

"If that were true, than you would have asked me what I thought before getting me engaged to someone whom I could never possibly love." She turned from them. "The next time you want me to help you improve your images, ask me first."

With that she silently walked out of the room, amazed that she had been able to keep herself from shouting. As she walked up emerald carpeted stairs she felt tears well in her eyes. Had she done something wrong? Was that why they never asked her her opinion? She couldn't remember doing anything to displease them, at least... not to displease them this much. She had been an average child, not doing anything remarkable. She had done what she was told to do, when she was told to do it, without complaint.

But nothing she seemed to do was good enough for her so called 'perfect parents'. Her lips twisted upwards into a half-smile. "Perfect indeed," she murmured to herself as she entered her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

Alice paused, and looked around the small room she had used for as long as she could remember. The floor was covered in a dark green carpet, much like the one that covered the stairs. The walls of the room were cream, and tastefully -- in her parents opinion anyway -- decorated with paintings from unknown artists. Her bed was small as well, covered with a simple white duvet. At the foot of it was a steamer trunk that held her books, as well as some baubles she had collected over the years. She turned to her right and there was her wardrobe, which had a full length mirror attached to the front of it.

A small stand was next to the wardrobe, and upon sat a lone brush. Alice sighed as she lay down upon the bed. She wished that she weren't stuck in this house, but there was nowhere she could go. It wasn't as though she could simply go out and find herself another place to go. Besides, she didn't know any other way of life. Burying her head in her pillow she finally let her tears fall.

----

It was dark when Alice awoke. Pushing herself up she blinked a few times to clear the cobwebs. She had a faint headache, which always happened after she had cried. Why had she been crying again? The haze that accompanied waking up faded quickly, and she remembered what had happened. She sighed, and ran a hand through her long blond hair. She was going to be in for it. Her parents were surely angry with her for speaking so rudely to them.

A wave of anger shot through Alice. Why should she be worried about what they were going to say? It was there fault in the first place. If they hadn't tried to plan her future for her than she never would have gotten so upset. Sighing again she got off the bed and moved to the table by the wardrobe. Blaming them wouldn't make any of this better. She knew that, but her mind didn't quite seem to want to accept that.

She picked up the brush and moved so that she stood in front of the mirror on the wardrobe. As she began to brush the tangles out of her hair she stared at her reflection. Her blue eyes were rimmed with red, and she had the beginnings of dark circles under her eyes. Alice had never been one to care about appearances, but she couldn't help but think about how terrible she looked.

Alice closed her eyes as she continued to try to get through the rat's nest in her hair. But when she opened her eyes, she saw something in the mirror that she was not expecting. Gasping, she dropped the brush and took a step back.

Staring back at her was a man. He had tan skin, the color of hot chocolate with lots of cream added, and shoulder length black hair that framed his narrow face. His eyes were the color of the sun, and just as intense looking. He was wearing a pair of tight black pants and a ruffled button-up purple shirt. Except as Alice looked closer, she noticed that only half of the buttons were actually done up, exposing a good amount of his finely toned chest.

Alice felt herself blush as she forced her gaze up from his chest and back to his face. She frowned, and took a step back toward the mirror with the expressionless man reflected within. She tilted her head to the right, then to the left. Was this some sort of trick? Was this just some figment of her imagination? Reaching a hand out she touched the glass, but immediately withdrew her hand when she felt it move.

"This...has to be a dream," she whispered to herself. "Yes, that must be it. I'm still asleep."

The man in the mirror grinned, showing off dazzling white teeth. Alice clenched her eyes shut, and pinched her arm. When I open my eyes he won't be there. There was a low laugh, and her eyes flew open. The man was still there, and he was still grinning. Alice frowned again, and folded her arms across her chest. The pinch had definitely hurt, albeit only a little. And he was definitely still there... so... did that mean that he really was real?

No, he was still probably just a figment of her imagination. Yes, her mind was playing tricks on her. She had worked herself into such a state earlier that her mind was rebelling against her.

"I am real, you know." The man finally spoke, his voice deep and cheerful. "Despite what you're thinking."

Alice let out a light laugh. "If you were real you wouldn't be reading my mind, now would you?" she asked, giving the imaginary man a smile.

He returned her smile with another one of his grins. "But I'm not reading anything but your face, dear Alice. Your thoughts are as clear as day on your face."

She felt her face heat up and knew she was blushing. How could someone who wasn't real embarrass her so? This just wasn't normal... "I must be going mad," she murmured.

He laughed again. "Oh but Alice, don't you remember? We're all mad here."

Alice blinked. That sounded so familiar... but where had she heard it before? Oh, she just couldn't remember! And then it hit her. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Cheshire!" she exclaimed.

Cheshire nodded, and his grin widened. "So you do remember then. I hoped you would."

"But... but you're not real! I imagined you. You were just a dream! You can't be real, you just can't be. Because if you were, that would mean that-"

"That Wonderland is real? It is." Cheshire scoffed. "You really think everything that happened was just a dream?"

Alice hesitated, not really sure anymore. Was she sure? Before now? Yes. At the moment? Not really. All the same, Wonderland... everything... it just seemed too far-fetched to actually be real. And yet...a part of her wanted it to be real.

"Well... I suppose that it might not have been a dream..." she said at length. "But... that doesn't matter right now. I want to know... what are you doing in my mirror?"

Cheshire shook his head. "Looking for you of course." His golden eyes twinkled as he looked her over. "My, you certainly have grown. You're nothing like I remember."

Alice flushed again. "W-well, you're nothing like I remember either."

Which was very true. He was entirely different from the Cheshire that she remembered. He was much taller now, and he looked much thinner as well. In fact, he looked a little too thin. Raising her gaze to his face she smiled. His grin was the same, as were his eyes. They still had the same humorous quality that they always held.

Cheshire smirked when he noticed her looking at him. He thought about posing for her, but thought better of it when he saw the time on the clock across from the wardrobe. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. He would have to wait until later to tease her, it seemed. For now they had somewhere they needed to be.

"Alice, it is time for you to make your choice," he said briskly.

She blinked. "Choice? What choice? Cheshire, what are you talking about?"

"Returning to Wonderland, of course! What else would I be referring to?"

Alice froze. He wanted to take her back to Wonderland? But... how? He was inside a mirror, and she was... no, that was beside the point. This wasn't supposed to be happening... this wasn't supposed to even be real. And yet... something within her told her that it was.

"But... why?" she asked lamely, trying to stall for time.

Cheshire frowned. "Why even ask such a silly thing?" He shook his head again. "No, no time for that. We're already running late as it is." He sighed. "I really need to stop spending so much time with White... now, time to go!"

And before Alice had a chance to blink she felt a hand grab her around the wrist and yank her hard into the mirror.

EN: Alright, there was chapter two! What did you think? I'm sorry about all the drama with Alice and her parents... youll understand why I included it later on. And I tried to keep Cheshire as a happy go lucky type of fellow, even if he is a human. Anyway, in the next chapter Alice returns to Wonderland and is reunited with more old friends.